Hat and clothes hanging device



Sept. 2, 1930. E, D. PRATT HAT AND CLOTHES HANGING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Oct. 4. 192'? ATTORNEY Sept. 2, 1930. y E. D. PRATT HAT AND CLOTHES HANGING DEVICE Filed 001:. 4. 1927 2 Sheets-sheer 2 i l (1 r ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 2, 1930 i UNITED STATES PATENT@ OFFICE EDWIN D. PRATT, OF PORT CHESTER, NEW YORK HAT AND CLOTHES HANGING DEVICE Application filed October 4, 1927. Serial No. 223,860.

10 a neater and simpler means for said purpose which, while positioned away from the wall, will be of low visibility, that is to say, can be positioned at such a height as to be below the plane of the eyes of the average person when tanding; which will be so compact as to avoid unnecessary space and to cause the utilization of substantially all the vertical space between the rack and the floor, and which will, therefore, not only avoid such unsightly wall racks and not seriously obstruct the vision ofV patrons in standing position, but at the same time will. afford accessible, convenient and compact means for hanging hats and clothing. Y

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple, neat design of hat and clothes rack which will greatly economize floor space over other hat and clothes racks; which will have a maximum capacity and enable a rela- 30 tively large number of hats or coats to be hung ina given space or area, and to this end I preferably utilize a rack bar of an elongated, rectilinear conformation having Vhooks arranged on opposite sides and at opposite ends thereof, and position the same at or about the height hereinabove specified.

Another object of my invention is to enable racks of greater outreach to be utilized; also to cause such clothes racks to be non-tiltable and to be securely maintained in fixed position. To this end I provide means for securely fastening or anchoringthe lower ends of the racks to the fioor, and preferably employ a base-memberV embedded in the fioor.

Still another object of my invention is to enable interchangeability with a single base member, of a plurality of upper rack-portions which may be of varying heights and capacities suitable for summer or winter conditions, as, for example, the hanging of overcoats and hats in winter and of hats and umbrellas in summer. 'Io this end, a releasable locking connection is provided between the basemember which is preferably `anchored and embedded, as aforesaid, and the upper part of the rack, said connection preferably embodying a mounting-socket in the base-member for the reception of the vertical standard of the rack and a locking element providing Y a locking engagement between said rackmounting socket and said standard.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in combination with racks of the type specified, removable umbrella pans which,

when in use, will be securely fixed and locked in place, but which will be readily releasable so as to permit removal and storing in dry weather. The pan is preferably releasably mounted by the same releasable connection between the upper rack portion and the base Vmember.

' With these and other objects in view, the invention comprises the combination of members and arrangement of parts so combined as to co-act and cooperate with each other in the performance of the functions and theaccomplishment of the results herein contemplated, and comprises inone of its adaptations the species or preferred form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a side elevation of a rack embody-4 :ng my invention; Y Y

` Fig. 2 isa plan view of the rack shown in Fig.V l; y

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 4' of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrow;

Fig. 5 is a cross section of a removable umbrella pan embodying my invention; l

Fig. 6 is a view, partly insection, on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5 and partly in plan:

Fig. 7 is a section of. a releasable connection employed by me between the lower end of the standard and the base member;

Fig. 8 is a section similar to Fig. 8, showing a modified form of base member; y

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9 9 of Fig. 7,looking in the direction of the arrow;`

Fig. l0 is a view, in plan, of a socket with the body portion of the device removed; and

Fig. 11 is a plan view of a restaurant iloor showing an arrangement of tables and of my hat and clothes hanging devices in relation thereto.

Referring now to these drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, 1 (Fig. 11) indicates the door or held of a restaurant in which tables 2 and chairs 3 are suitably disposed, some ot my improved coat racks l being positioned bctween two tables in perpendicular relationship to and projecting outwardly from the walls, but not attached thereto, while other similar racks are arranged in the ield ot the room.

In accordance with my invention, my hanging device 10 comprises a standard or vertical member 10, which is preferably releasably fastened at its lower end in the floor 1 of the restaurant in a manner which will be hereinafter described and is provided adjacent to its upper end with elongated rack-bar members or cross arms of rectilinear contormation. As illusrated, these rack-bar members comprise bars 11 and 12 arranged in rectilinear relationship and having hooks 13 on opposite sides and at the ends.

In said preferred en'ibodiment ot my invention, these rack-bar members or cross-arms are preferably positioned in a plane below the plane of the eyes of the average patron when standing up so that the iield of vision oit' a patron in the room will be substantially unobstructed. These rack-bar members, so arranged, will provide a means for permitting 1 he hanging or garments and will, when used to hang coats, utilize all the vertical space between the ioor and said arms; they will also elimina-te the unsightly wall raclrs and the usual coat trees while dispensing with the necessity of a paid attendant. Extremely low visibility of the device is thus procured while at the same time affording an accessible and convenient means for hanging hats and garments of a patron. The elongated rectilinear conforma-tion of the arms will occupy a minimum of ioor space and will have a maximum capacity because of the fact that hooks may be positioned at opposite sides and at the ends of this elongated rectilinear rack member. A relatively large number of hats and coats may thus be hung in a given space or area.

Devices for hanging hats and clothes ot the type hereinabove speciiied would, if used conventionally, require base portions or feet ot large dimensions. I have, therefore, provided means for avoiding any such tilting by securely fastening or anchoring the lower ends of the racks to the floor. In order to economize space around the base portion, I embed the base portion in the floor and also preferably arrange for the interchangeability with a single base-member of a plurality of upper body portions. These body portions may be of varying rack-bar capacities to suit winter or summer conditions. In Fig. 1, I have shown in full lines the body portion of a hat and clothes hanging device suitable for winter use, having a single cross-bar elevated a suflicient distance only to cause all the space between said rack and the door to be utilized. Note the position of the coat C and hat Il in said Fig. 1. In dotted lines in said ligure I have also illustrated a body portion, suitable for summer use, which is somewhat shorter than the winter device and has duplicate rack-bar members or crossarms 12 and 13 at varying heights, the lower rack-bar member being preteraoly spaced above the floor a distance sui'licientto accommodate hats I-I and umbrellas U, and the vertical space between the racks being sutlicient to accommodate any hats H which may be hung on the upper rack-member. It will be seen that the capacity of the summer rack is double that of the winter rack and in view of this fact and also because the number of garments which it is necessary to care for is less in summer, the number of devices mav be reduced as indicated in Fig. 11, in which devices in full and dotted lines indicate the number of devices used in winter while the devices in dotted lines will be removed in summer. To enable interchangeability of summer and winter racks, I also provide a base portion which is separable from the upper body portion of the device and is preferably permanently anchored in the floor; and in the preferred embodiment of my invention, I provide a readily releasable connection between the embedded base portion and a body portion.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to l1 ot the drawing the base portion is composed of a centrally-located socket hub 14 and a plurality of radiating arms 11i', 14a, and 14 and, as shown, the arm 14h is made hollow and has slidably mounted therein a bolt 15. rI`his arm is also preferably provided adjacent to the mounting socket hub 14 with an operating socket 1G closed by a screw-threaded plate 17 wnich, when removed, permits access to the end 15 of the bolt 15 with a suitably sharpened tool. The bolt 15 may thus be manipulated to slide within the hollow, horizontal arm and through the wall of the socket 14 into locking engagement with the body portion 10 having a standard portion 10', said standard portion 10 being apertured at 15b (Figs. 1 and 3) for reception of the bolt 15.

In Fig. .7, I have shown a modiied form of base member or base portion 30 comprising hub 31 having a cylindrical soci-:et 32 provided at opposite sides with stepped grooves 33, 33, each of which comprises an axiallydisposed section 33', a horizontally-disposed communicating section 33a and another axially-disposed section 33b communicating with the opposite end of the horizontally-disposed section 33a.

In this modified form of releasable connection, the standard l0a of the body portion of my hat and clothes hanging device is provided with a cylindrical end portion 10b which has side projections or lugs 10 adapted to fit within the stepped grooves 38 to be turned through the groove portions 33a and to be dropped into the axial groove portions 33", thus securely locking the body portion in readily releasable connection with the base portion.

In said Fig. 7, the floor F is formed of concrete and the hub member 30 is provided with anchoring wings 35.

In Fig. 8, the bottom of the hub portion 30 is provided with a screw-thread 30a and is fastened by a nut 301? to a wooden iioor F', an annular flange 30c being provided at the upper end of the socket in order to permit the tightening of the socket to the floor F by said nut and screw-thread.

It will be seen that this arrangement enables a very quick and secure releasable connection between the body portion of my improved device and the base portion thereof.

I also preferably provide a removable um-v brella pan which is also of rectilinear conformation and, as shown, comprises an elongated rectilinear pan 19 having a base portion 20 provided with a cover portion 2l having holes or apertures 21a, said pan comprising two identical sections arranged on opposite sides of the post, lsaid identica-l pan portions having a common base framev 20 provided with a socket 20L through which are removable standard pieces 10 so as to lock aid base portion and the pans in place on the oor.

It will be obvious that in dry weather the pans may be released by releasing and demounting the standard or vert-ical member from the anchored base portion and then moving the pans and again mounting and locking the standard in place as hereinabove Y described.

j sides of said elongated rack and having their outer ends arranged within closely adjacent parallel planes, in combination with a rigidly mounted base-portion, and means for detachably connecting said standard to said base-portion, whereby tilting of the standard-l under load on the said elongated rack is prevented, and the standard is capable of being used as a releasable fastenin element for an umbrella stand in rainy weat er.

2. A hat and clothes hanging device embodying a. body portion comprising a vertically-disposed standard and elongated rack members on said vertical standard arranged in a single vertical plane extending to opposite sides of said vertical standard in a substantially rectilinear line, said rack members being provided with a plurality of relatively short clothes hooks projecting on opposite sides of said elongated rack and having their outer ends arranged within closely adjacent parallel planes, a base-portion at the lower end of said standard, and a relatively narrow elongated umbrella pan removably mounted at the base of the standard and substantially disposed within the same parallel vertical planes as said hook ends.

In witness whereof, I have signed my name to the foregoing specification.

EDVIN D. PRATT. 

